Long-TermStudy of a Thousand Children Reveals Key Indicator of Financial Prosperity
The 40-year long Dunedin Study, conducted by a team of psychologists since 1972 in the New Zealand town of Dunedin, has revealed a groundbreaking finding: the most important factor in raising successful, financially stable children is not academic performance or good manners, but rather the development of emotional intelligence early in life.
This extensive research, led by the University of Otago’s Psychology Department, has shown that emotional regulation skills, as demonstrated by the marshmallow test, are among the strongest predictors of adult success across multiple domains such as health, wealth, and relationships.
The study follows more than 1,000 children and has produced over 1,000 scientific papers. It has found that while wealth, education, or socioeconomic status of the parents may influence a child's life, they are not the best predictors of a child's success.
Pediatrician Harry Goldstein notes that children who receive support and guidance in developing self-control skills tend to fare better as adults. Emotional intelligence is not an inborn trait, but can be cultivated.
The Dunedin Study suggests that self-control can be influenced by external factors such as parenting, education, and early intervention programs. Helping a child talk through their emotions and empathizing with them is a way to support the development of emotional intelligence. Exposing a child to art and literature can aid in thinking through the complexities of being human and developing emotional intelligence. Modeling curiosity and humility can also help foster a child's emotional intelligence.
The study also highlights that mental health problems are more common than previously believed. Early puberty, particularly for girls, is particularly stressful, according to the Dunedin Study.
The key finding of the Dunedin Study, regarding raising successful, financially stable children, is that the most important factor is emotion regulation skills developed early in life, which strongly predict adult success and stability more than IQ or socio-economic background.
Recent findings in aging and cognition associated with the Dunedin cohort are related but distinct from the core finding about early life emotional regulation and success. The study continues to conduct ongoing research and new sub-studies related to brain and behavior development within the Dunedin cohort, suggesting its continued emphasis on emotional and cognitive development as critical to life trajectories.
In sum, the ability to regulate emotions early in life emerges as the most important factor for raising successful, financially stable children, according to the Dunedin 40-year study. Psychologist Daniel Goleman, in a recent keynote, stated that cognitive control in one's 30s is the strongest predictor of financial success, according to the Dunedin study. The Dunedin Study serves as a testament to the importance of emotional intelligence in shaping a child's future success and well-being.
Engaging in self-development activities, such as fitness-and-exercise, mental-health programs, and education-and-self-development courses, can help cultivate emotional intelligence, thereby contributing to personal-growth and career-development.
Children who develop emotional regulation skills, as shown in the marshmallow test, are more likely to experience success in various aspects of life, including health and relationships, according to the findings of the Dunedin Study.
The Dunedin Study's research underscores the significance of emotional intelligence in not only raising successful, financially stable children but also in shaping an individual's overall well-being, encompassing both their personal and professional life.
